… promises constitutional reform, campaign financing laws

THE Citizenship Initiative (TCI), yet another new political party pushing for greater citizen and youth involvement, the legalisation of marijuana, and constitutional reform, among other things, was officially launched last Thursday evening at the Herdmanston Lodge.

Other points noted by the party during the night’s session was campaign financing reform, tax reform, liberalisation of the ICT sector, less business regulations, which they say were stifling small businesses. The party is being headed by author and Cultural Policy Advisor, Ruel Johnson, Shazam Ally, a website developer, and former supporter of the opposition PPP/C and governing APNU/AFC party; school teacher Rhonda-Ann Lam, and businessman Alfonso De Armas.

The party is looking to contest the March, 2020 elections, and hopes to gain at least one seat in Guyana’s 65-seat parliament. The party has six pillars for development: Participatory citizenship, enhanced governance and public accountability; economic security, diversification and growth; infrastructure for the future; education and human resources development; social cohesion, security and equity; and international leadership.

The launch saw the party giving an eye-catching presentation, and included an interactive session with those in attendance, which included Private Sector Commission Chairman Gerry Gouveia, and prominent businesswoman Annette Arjoon-Martins. The party members were questioned on, and were able to give their stance, on a number of issues.
The party is the fourth local political party to be birthed this year, since talks of early elections became a front-burner issue following the December 21 no- confidence motion against the government.

In January 2019, Liberty and Justice Party (LJP), led by former Vice Chairman of the National Toshaos Council (NTC) Lenox Shuman, was the first party to be launched. Later that month a group of Berbice lawyers launched the Federal United Party (FED-UP), which was quickly followed by the launch of A New and United Guyana (ANUG), led by former PPP executive, Ralph Ramkarran.

Lam shared that it was earlier this year that the group of young professionals, who would become TCI’s core, were discussing the need for change in several political areas, and then decided to develop their own party. “It was at the beginning of this year that the serious conversation really started. One day I don’t even remember who it was that said we should really stop complaining and do something, so we launched into this discussion of what we would change and how we would change it and it just kind of snowballed from there and we said ok we’re going to go forward. We had about 20 or 30 persons,” Lam explained.

The party has not yet formed an executive or talked about possibility of a presidential candidate. Lam said in the coming weeks the party will hold a members’ meeting for nominations and selection of persons for the executive.

The party, like many others, said it was tired of the politics of Guyana’s two major political parties: the opposition People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC), which ruled Guyana for 23 years and the current governing coalition party, APNU-AFC.

“On the 26 May 1966 our country gained independence from Great Britain and was finally allowed to manage its own affairs. We have been marred by ethnic divisions, limited opportunities for holistic economic development and questionable leadership since then,” said Ally, a former supporter of the PPP then APNU/AFC.

“As a nation we have put the reigns in the hands of two major groups who have shared power for 53 plus years, but yet we are still faced with many of the struggles. Today, even as we stand on the cusp of tremendous financial wealth, we are suffering more than ever from a poverty of ideas in the political realm.” Johnson accused the two major parties of not doing enough to utilize youth ideas.

“Young people in existing parties are being treated like they don’t have ideas and they don’t have plans,” Johnson said. Johnson took firm stances on the party’s plans to never coalesce with any of the two major political parties; and the party’s plans to disclose its financiers as it pushes for campaign financing reform for the entire political environment. He is advocating for the publication of the names of all donors giving US$10,000 or more to parties.

“Coalition is not an option, we don’t intend to. From a very practical perspective you can’t say there are goals, you have to change the status quo and then you go and join the status quo,” Johnson said.

There’s also a broad futuristic plan for revolutionizing the country’s infrastructure using the financial resources from Guyana’s emerging oil and gas industry. A PowerPoint presentation with a 3D layout gave attendees a look at how they hope transformation of the country to look like.

The party had the backing and blessings of Trinidadian political activist Nikoli Edwards, who was a guest speaker at the launch. He commended the group for what they were doing and shared testimonials of his own tales to a career in politics. Now that the party has launched, Lam said following the putting in place of the party’s executive, the plans are to begin campaigning by going into the communities and speaking with the people directly.

“We’re hitting the road and we’re going into communities and hear what they have to tell us. What are the problems affecting them? We don’t live in those communities so it’s hard for us to make decisions and policies for people who we have never spoken to, we are viewing from bird’s eye view at best. So we’re hitting the road, getting into communities and ultimately moving our initiatives forward with the input of the citizenship,” Lam said.